Matthew Peca, Erik Condra, and Mat Bodie were he game's three stars. Condra returned to the lineup and the Crunch were clearly a little spicy from their loss on Wednesday against Laval. Eight goals later they surely feel a little satisfaction.

The score doesn't reflect the degree to which the Lightning dominated MOST of the game. The opening 20 minutes were pretty fractured and saw a lot of the same breakout issues and turnovers that plagued the team over the prior four periods of hockey between Colorado and Las Vegas. They got pretty unlucky on the Girardi own goal, but honestly they probably deserved to be down after that opening frame. From there, the team really took off the remaining 40 minutes of regulation and had total control of OT. The finishing wasn't there tonight, but they outchanced Ottawa by a roughly 2:1 margin by the time the contest was over. In a perfect world they'd have wrapped it up in regulation, but ultimately the two points are the thing.

The Lightning have 6 games remaining in this 10-game segment of the season to collect 6 more points to make it a successful one. Good spot to be.

Yanni Gourde had a goal and was +1 with 2 penalty minutes, 3 shots, and 1 hit in 12:52. Really went to the high traffic areas hard tonight and got rewarded.

Jake Dotchin had 2 penalty minutes, 3 hits, and 1 blocked shot in 18:42. Not going to lie: he was simply not good tonight. Some pretty heinous turnovers. Maybe that's a product of the flu bug, but that wasn't pretty.

Mikhail Sergachev had 1 shot in 20:38. Seems like he's spiking up over 20 minutes quite a bit lately, which is good to see.

Walker scored and added a power play assist as the Hornets used a three-goal 2nd period to make the difference in a road win at Highland Arena in St. Paul against the Raiders of Cretin-Derham Hall.

I failed to post the results of Edina’s 10-7 win against Elk River last Friday night, the second game of a three-in-three for the Hornets at the Edina Classic tournament, in which Walker exploded for five goals and six points. Forward Jack Perbix, brother of Bolt Prospect Nick Perbix, had three assists for the Elks in that game. The younger Perbix is 2018 draft eligible and a Notre Dame commit, was a 1st round pick by the Green Bay Gamblers in the 2016 USHL Futures Draft. Edina’s next game is Boxing Day (Dec 26th) against the Minnetonka Skippers.

Whether tonight was because of a flu big running through the team, which led to Tyler Johnson and Jake Dotchin being late scratches, or a couple of long nights on The Strip, that was the Lightning's worst effort since the debacle in Boston. That they had any opportunity at all to steal a point after Fleury's gift of a soft goal at all was mildly remarkable. The team just played a very lightweight game. Soft passes and over-stickhandling leading to a bevy of turnovers coming out of their own end and they just didn't have the puck enough to merit a victory. How they managed 38 shots on Fleury I have no clue because it seemed like they barely had the puck and what little they did they were either turning it over, icing it, or chipping it up the boards just to relieve the pressure.

With that said, awfully ticky tack call on Coburn that led to the GWG. Gallant had a minor hissy fit on a prior call on Engelland that was an absolutely appropriate call and he was rewarded with the make up whistle. In the grand scheme, the Lightning probably deserved the result they got, but in that moment that call was mildly atrocious.

Slater Koekkoek had 2 penalty minutes, 2 shots, 1 hit, and 1 blocked shot in 8:50. Didn't have a great First Period. Didn't seem to see the ice much thereafter.

Mikhail Sergachev had 2 penalty minutes, 3 shots, and 1 hit in 14:11. If he's ill, that's a fair excuse, but he was brutal tonight coming out of his own end. His turnover that led to his penalty that led to Vegas' third goal would've gotten a lot of rookies benched (if not demoted). There's a line where confidence with the puck bleeds over into utter stupidity. Sergachev leapt over that boundary a few times tonight.

Former Maple Leaf prospect Nikita Korostelev scored twice for the Petes, but the Bulldogs lit the lamp four times in the first period and cruised to a 5-2 victory over a struggling Peterborough team. As one-time East Division leaders, the Petes are now winless in their last five, and have only won three games in their last 10. Meanwhile, Hamilton, the now East Division leader, has won five straight and 8 of their last ten, and only the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds with a 20 game win streak is hotter in the OHL.

After the Mooseheads and Screaming Eagles exchanged a pair of goals, sixteen-year-old Xavier Parent (2019 draft eligible) notched his 8th goal of the season in what would be the game winner. Somppi collected his 25th assist of the season on a Patrick Kyte (undrafted) goal, eclipsing last year’s total of 24 in 33 fewer games, on pace for about an 80-point season.

Three times the Ice Dogs drew within a goal of the Colts after Barrie jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Aaron Luchuk (undrafted), acquired Thursday from the Windsor Spitfires, scored the opening goal, his 3rd goal and 5th point for the Colts since the trade.

Walker (pictured) doled out three assists, two on the power play, Liam Malmquist (uncommitted) tallied a hat trick, and Jett Jungels (Northern Michigan commit) as the Hornets put up a touchdown on the Eagles. Edina’s next game is Tuesday (Dec 20th) against the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders.

Peter Budaj allowed 5 goals on 37 shots for the win. I wasn't in love with a couple of goals he gave up in garbage time to make this one more interesting than necessary. He did really come through with some situational saves late in the game, but that wasn't a Picasso by Budaj. Dogs Playing Poker, perhaps.

I applaud the ruthlessness of the Lightning's Second Period performance to establish the three goal lead after 40 minutes. That's typically a death sentence for the team that trails and that was the case again tonight. I don't applaud the mix of sloppiness, iffy goaltending, and creative officiating that led to that wild and eventful Third Period. I just hope that final frame doesn't foreshadow some bad performances down the road. There's peaks and valleys over the course of a season, and the Lightning have been on a peak for the last little while.

Yanni Gourde had 1 goal and 2 assists and was +1 with 2 shots in 15:35. He was also 50% on 6 draws.

Jake Dotchin had a helper and was a gaudy +4 with 3 shots, 5 hits, and 2 blocked shots in 17:37.

Mikhail Sergachev had the GWG and was +1 with 3 shots, 2 hits, and 1 blocked shot in 15:37.

The Crunch got the 1-0 lead after 20 minutes and you just kind of expected them to win again. But, in the end, they have a bad middle frame and get outshot 33-24. All good things come to an end. Time to start another winning streak next time out.